INTERPOL Washington Participates in International Border Summit

INTERPOL Washington—the U.S. National Central Bureau--participated in a panel discussion on border security during the International Summit on Borders held in Washington, D.C., on June 13-14, 2017.

The International Summit on Borders, sponsored by Clarion Events, brought together U.S. and international leaders from government and the private sector to explore the nexus between international trade and travel with homeland security and other transnational threats. Secretary of Homeland Security John F. Kelly opened the event with a keynote presentation entitled, “Global Border Issues: How Cooperation Can and Is Enhancing Security and Facilitation.”

Royce Walters, INTERPOL Washington Assistant Director for Counter-terrorism and Border Security, made brief remarks describing the role of INTERPOL and INTERPOL Washington, as well as the need for cooperation between the border security elements of individual countries to take advantage of the available tools.

INTERPOL offers all INTERPOL member countries, either individually or simultaneously, access to an encrypted, Internet-based virtual private network known as I-24/7. This system facilitates police-to-police interaction in real time on investigative matters ranging from simple criminal history checks to the sharing of vital criminal intelligence and investigative leads. It also provides an international communications link for processing humanitarian assistance requests involving threatened suicides, death notifications, and health and welfare checks.

Through INTERPOL Washington’s integrated information-sharing strategy, all U.S. law enforcement, border protection and consular officials have the ability to access the international criminal databases maintained by INTERPOL. These databases include information on wanted and missing persons, terrorists, stolen and lost travel documents, and stolen vehicles, among other data.

Walters emphasized the importance of increasing and enhancing individual countries’ access to I-24/7. He suggested that border security networks can be strengthened when countries collect data for, contribute data to, and capitalize on the data available through INTERPOL’s networks. Biometric and stolen and lost travel documents (SLTD) data are critical to effective border security efforts to stop transnational criminals and foreign terrorist fighters. “We know of instances in which the ability to scan travel documents at a country’s border could have enabled a timely arrest of an international criminal. This is why it is critical to make these data available to police and border security officials worldwide,” he said.

A component of the U.S. Department of Justice, INTERPOL Washington is co-managed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. As the designated representative to INTERPOL on behalf of the Attorney General, INTERPOL Washington serves as the national point of contact for all INTERPOL matters, coordinating international investigative efforts among member countries and the more than 18,000 local, state, federal, and tribal law enforcement agencies in the United States.

Photograph courtesy of Customs and Border Protection.